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June 14, 2000 10:50 AM, EDT

A jury will decide later this year whether the producers of “Dateline NBC” misrepresented their intentions to a Maine trucking company owner in developing a segment on driver fatigue for the television news show.

The lawsuit brought by Ray Veilleux of Classic Carriers in Waterville, Maine, will be reheard in the U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine, in the early fall, the motor carrier’s attorney, William Robitzek, said June 5.

Classic Carriers won its lawsuit against the network in July 1998 at the district court level. But NBC appealed that verdict to the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was largely successful. In March, the court threw out a $525,000 damage award and dismissed four of six charges ("NBC Award to Maine Hauler Overturned on Appeal," 3-13, p. 5).

Two charges were not dismissed: the one regarding misrepresentation and a claim of lost consortium by Veilleux’s wife, Kelly.

For the full story, see the June 12 print edition of Transport Topics. .